All the Youngsters
August 21, 2022
I’ve been thinking about something my dear friend Deanna once said to me in a way only someone who loves you deeply and knows you well can communicate: “You can’t be so serious all the time”. It’s true, I have a tendency to be too serious and I struggle with letting go and having fun. I’d like to be more playful than I am.
Who does know how to have fun? Children! This includes young birds who act like human children in many ways, except the part where they can fly (imagine having to chase your toddler through the tree tops).
This takes me to the exquisite morning of August 10, 2022. It was my first morning back after three weeks away. I was so grateful to be at the lake I was singing hello to the trees, stopping to deeply listen to the frogs and thoroughly enjoying every step of the half-mile walk to the lake’s edge. It was warm but not oppressive and the sky was clear. I reached the lake just as the sun was rising. A tree I have photographed many birds on over the years had fallen and was blocking part of the path. Between the tree and my inability to sit on the ground, I wasn’t sure I’d see much. Thankfully the birds were extremely generous and came to see me.
A young cardinal still growing into his adult colors was first to arrive, exploring the bushes. A goldfinch popped out onto the thistle very briefly and disappeared. As I watched I noticed more yellow moving in the trees. I expected goldfinches or maybe yellow warblers. To my absolute delight, there were four prothonotary warblers!
I rarely see prothonotary warblers. I had never before seen more than one at a time. They are so striking in their blazing yellow with gray stripes on their wings and white under the tail. Birding friends often lament fall warblers which can be a bit drab and all look alike, but prothonotary warblers maintain that blazing yellow as they head south.
As I watched I quickly realized these were youngsters. They were chasing each other, awkwardly flitting between the branches and playing “king of the mountain” because an occupied perch is always the most desirable perch. They were kind enough to be in the nearest tree, at least when they weren’t chasing each other to other trees. They returned several times and I saw them eat numerous tiny green caterpillars.
I saw another flash of yellow but this one had a reddish-brown tail and was larger than the warblers. He hid in the leaves for quite a while before finally revealing himself as a young great-crested flycatcher. He was very determined, performing numerous acrobatic twists and turns as he chased bugs too small for me to see in between the branches.
Other youngsters played in the branches, alternatively chasing each other and stopping to find bugs to eat. Robins, chickadees and one ruby-throated hummingbird. I think he had one tiny little ruby well hidden on his chin (which would make it a young male vs a female - it’s hard to tell).
As I watch young birds I notice both their determination and their curiosity. I keep reading that curiosity is the underpinning of playfulness. When I’m out in nature, I am genuinely curious. I remember (most of the time) that whatever I think I know, it is incomplete and changes every day. This little area of trees was incredibly busy on this particular morning. The next morning there wasn’t a bird to be found.
I have thought about fun many times and read plenty of books over the past two years about curiosity and joy. Yet I don’t think I am bringing genuine curiosity to other parts of my life. I often focus on “getting things done”, even when I’m doing something that should or could be enjoyable (like journaling). I often think I should know the answer - all the answers - when it comes to things like my job, my health, my fitness or relationships. As if by the time I reached my middle 50s I’m supposed to be an adult with the answers.
In truth, whatever I think I know - about my job, my friends, relationships, my own body - it’s changing all the time. We never really approach the same situation twice just like I never approach the same shoreline twice at the lake no matter how many sunrises I witness there.
Knowing this intellectually doesn’t seem to easily translate into being truly curious - especially when I don’t want to be curious because I don’t really want to look. Like with pain. Or when I think others expect me to have the answers, like in my day job.
After a month of standing-not-sitting and strengthening muscles so I can walk again, it’s clear I must approach my current limitations with curiosity. They are not the same as they were a month ago. They are not the same day to day. It is also clear that I have to move more - and standing is not the same as moving. I’m encouraging myself to approach this with curiosity and a sense of fun, rather than a task-master-let’s-fix-this style. I want to have more fun after I come home from the lake too.
I’m encouraging myself to approach this newsletter with a little more curiosity too. How could it change? How could it be different? Not so much “better” but how could it convey both a sense of awe and a sense of curiosity and wonder? I truly am delighted by, in awe of and amazed by the things I see every day. I believe that Everything is Amazing, just as Mike Swoden illustrates with the fantastical absurd - but real - things he writes about in his newsletter. (If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it and season 5 is just about to start!)
How do you infuse more fun in your life? How do you encourage yourself to move more in a world that wants to lock us into a chair? Tell me about the light-hearted people you know (and if you are one!). I really want to know!
I’d also like to welcome all the new subscribers, there are nearly 600 of us now! In case many don’t know, I do put out an extra post every week to the paying subscribers where I let nature and the photos do the talking. A little meditation and a way to start your week with hopefully a smile or at least a deep breath.
I've spent chunks of the last two mornings watching all the young birds inhabiting the tree outside my window harass their beleaguered parents.
600 readers, wow! I had no idea. That is incredible Karen. Just wanted to drop in and say congratulations. I still read your posts every week after meeting you in a shout out thread last year. I'm still looking for my first 100 readers, and knowing your readers found you gives me hope that my readers must be out there too ✨️